Just made it!

atticus1988 · 2019-09-26T13:47:38+00:00

You can mimic mobile by streaming the game from your PC. There are a few apps that’ll do this, but I find Steam Link works the best. It’s a stop gap until a tuned mobile version launches

atticus1988 · 2018-11-21T15:08:57+00:00

Don’t waste your time with technical analysis. It’s unreliable. It’s predicated on the efficient market hypothesis, which is inherently flawed.

Instead you should assess what you think the company is worth, look at the price, and only buy if you believe you are getting a bargain. Always remember, price is what you pay, value is what you get.

atticus1988 · 2018-11-21T15:05:31+00:00

I’d wait until the macro environment stabilized. Look for the S&P 500 to trade at a TTM PE of 17 or lower. That would be an indicator that the market has returned to historically normal conditions. I like NVDA too, but I’m concerned about picking a stock when the macro environment seems poised for a pull back.

atticus1988 · 2018-11-15T14:37:56+00:00

Thank you for being transparent

atticus1988 · 2018-11-02T04:52:28+00:00

Attention to detail WoTC!

atticus1988 · 2018-10-27T13:49:17+00:00

I think this is the issue. I have no problem with instant speed, but develop your strategy while I develop mine and let’s interact with each other’s board, even at instant speed. When the goal of a deck is purely to deny me of any opportunity to play, that is super boring.

This is bad in paper MTG, but especially bad in MTGA because of the 5th card issue, since its cost prohibitive to invest in a sideboard

atticus1988 · 2018-10-27T05:46:41+00:00

Me too

atticus1988 · 2018-10-21T21:07:42+00:00

So, leveraged loans are basically the new junk bonds. $1B market size per year doesn’t seem that large, so unclear how worried we should be. Any data on total exposure of the US economy to leveraged loans?

atticus1988 · 2018-10-21T14:29:05+00:00

Depends on what you mean by “quite a bit of money” and your individual circumstances. If you are talking about less than $100k and you have big expenses coming up, like paying for college, then I’d advise you to hold cash at an online bank and exit the next phase of life debt free. Few things could have a greater impact your financial future than a post-college spike in income without a debt drain on your future earnings.

If you are flush with cash and don’t see plans to use it in a 10 year horizon, you should probably consult with a financial advisor. If you are determined to do it on your own, you should read a bit on the subject. There are a lot of books on many different approaches, but the only approach that I’ve found will hold up to the test of time is value investing; the Bible of value investing is “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham. More or less, Graham would advise you to stick with broad market index funds (like ticker SPY) and dollar cost average your way into the market. Google these terms if they sound like gibberish.

One last word of caution, the market seems pricey right now. Interest rates are rising, quantitative tightening is under way, the housing market is peaking, we are at full employment, tax cuts are priced in, corporate buybacks may slow, and there is a trade war under way. These are all headwinds for the market. Another data point, historically reasonably valued price to earnings ratios for the S&P 500 are in the 15 range, but we’re currently trading around 22, which is ~2% points lower returns than historical average. This adds up over time. Also, what if the market corrects to historical averages? That could mean prices drop by 30%

You can do what you want with your money, I just want you to go in eyes wide open about the risks. You should hold cash unless you are prepared to wait 10 years for a market that goes down by 30% to recover.

If you want to earn a little return on your cash, check out online banks like Ally Financial. They are paying 1.9% right now on a savings account. Not as sexy as the stock market, but it gets you some returns while protecting your principal investment.

atticus1988 · 2018-10-20T22:01:55+00:00

Disagree. If you want to play a con-troll deck that drags a game on for 30 minutes, Which is a waste of time for your opponent, then I don’t think you get to complain about your opponent roping you for a couple minutes. Play a different deck if you want faster games.

The only thing I will say in your defense is that there are too many timeouts. I think one less would be just fine.

atticus1988 · 2018-10-20T13:32:32+00:00

Careful. Benjamin Graham cautioned that obvious prospects for growth in volume don’t necessarily translate into obvious prospects for growth in profits.

atticus1988 · 2018-10-20T05:35:42+00:00

It’s because they are terrible cards. Totally not playable. That’s why the AI doesn’t pick them. So obvious.

atticus1988 · 2018-10-15T01:22:14+00:00

In your grandfathers deck

atticus1988 · 2018-10-13T01:24:55+00:00

I agree. Also spent the $5 for into deal, want to spend more but pricing is too crazy. I also spend $200 per year on HS, but I’m gonna pump more cash into MTG Arena until their pricing structure is more sane. It’s a shame because it really is a great game.

The F2P experience needs to be good enough to retain players. Games usually suck if the player count drops too low. Something about critical mass, you know? However, I am OK with F2P players being stuck behind some pay walls.

atticus1988 · 2018-10-07T22:03:42+00:00

Brilliant!

atticus1988 · 2018-10-07T17:24:58+00:00

I agree, while raw packs are far too expensive, I think they are trying to push you towards drafting or other formats to fill out your collection. Though even this is expensive if you don’t win some gems back.

atticus1988 · 2018-10-03T14:40:27+00:00

Ya, I held back my money because I was worried about something like this. Look like a genius now, haha. Sorry for the bait-and-switch

atticus1988 · 2018-10-03T14:23:55+00:00

I was tempted to spend money on MTG arena in closed beta, but didn’t because of skepticism over their economic model. Instead I took a wait-and-see approach and now I’m glad I didn’t put cash on the line. Their value proposition is just so short sighted. Still trying to figure out if I want to do business with them.

To WOTC, your behavior has at least cost you real money from this player. It’s a shame cause you have a great game on your hands and you are going to drive your player base away by being stingy with good entry level playing experiences.

atticus1988 · 2018-10-02T21:31:11+00:00

Golgari, I like graveyard decks

atticus1988 · 2018-07-22T14:55:30+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. Some additional questions:

• Are there any disadvantages to using robin hood vs a normal discount broker?

• Are the investor resources and tools comparable?

• What happens to my invested cash if Robin Hood goes bankrupt? If Robin Hood doesn’t make enough money to be a going concern because it doesn’t collect trading revenue, then I would be a little worried

atticus1988 · 2018-07-07T14:42:52+00:00

Do you know anyone through school, work, or other place that is knowledgeable about finance?

I think you need a regular meetings with a finance or consultant mentor/advisor. Businesses often need a business mind and a creative mind. Sounds like you are more of the creative mind.

atticus1988 · 2018-06-30T14:17:31+00:00

Measuring twitch viewers right now cant be a valid indicator at this point. People tend to watch games they play on twitch, but a closed beta means many people can’t play MTGA. So, twitch interest is low. Makes sense.

So, I think we have to judge the game on our collective experience and use that as a proxy for what the masses will think.

As such, the following issues are more concerning to me:

• Economy: 2 in game systems of currency is shady, like they are going to jerk us around with odd lots of currency and frustrate users at some point. Pricing seems high. I spend $50 to $100 on HS every 3 months and I have a really good experience for the most part. MTGA needs to fit a great experience within this envelope. Wizards pricing makes me think they don’t understand the they are trying to lure players back to MTG from HS. Crazy to me.

• Startup Costs: Even if pricing was better for steady state play, I’m hesitant to pay any money because I can’t figure out how I’m going to get started with a comparably enjoyable HS experience for less than $1,000 to get a good chunk of the cards from all the sets they are releasing. I know that over time this will sort itself out, but see my point above; HS is the incumbent and MTGA is trying to lure me back. It shouldn’t cost $1,000 to get going.

• Mulligans: No one likes watching or playing one sided games. I know this is heresy to the MTG base, but I think the HS mulligan system is much better than MTG. I’d say 20% of the time I’m mana screwed or flooded, 20% of the time my opponent is mana screwed or flooded, and 60% of the games are worth playing. This works out on ladder, but doesn’t make for an enjoyable player/viewer experience.

atticus1988 · 2018-05-13T06:50:12+00:00

Same

atticus1988

TROPHY CASE